Garment hanger



June 18, 1940. c, L WELLS 2,294,875

GARMENT HANGER Filed Aug. 27, 1938 Patented June 18, 1940 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE GARMENT HANGER Application August 27,

1938, Serial No. 227,071

In Canada July 8, 1938 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a garment hanger of the class in common use bycleaners and pressers of clothes during storage and during deliverythereof to the customers. This type of hanger 6 is made in the shape ofan isosceles triangle, the two shorter sides providing supporting meansfor a garment such as a coat or dress at the shoulders thereof while thelong side constitutes a transverse bar adapted to hold trousers or fiatarticles 10 folded thereover, a hook aflixed at the junction of the twoshorter sides provides suspending means for the hanger.

This invention has for its main object an improved hanger in which thegarment supporting l" surfaces are relatively wide and in which narrowor. sharp edges which may crease the garment or distort its shape areeliminated.

A further object is to provide an article of this class which may becollapsed or folded for 20: purposes of shipping or packing.

Another object resides in the simplicity of its construction and theinexpensiveness of the materials required for its manufacture.

Other more or less important objectives will become apparent in a studyof the following specification and of the drawing forming part thereof.

Heretofore generally two types of hangers of this class were in commonuse; one constructed of woodand the other of wire. The former, beingusually of wider proportioned stock, afforded better support for thegarment than was the case with the wire hanger which had a tendency tocrease the garment and distort its shape, but for the reason that thewooden article was prohibitively expensive the wire hanger had come intoalmost universal use and the fact that it was relatively unsuited forthe purpose was, under the circumstances, insufficient to displace it inpoint of popularity.

The improved hanger made according to this invention may have all itsparts, excepting the suspending hook, stamped out of any firm sheetmaterial. It is preferred, however, to employ either fibre or paperboard or cardboard, and as part of the stamping operation crease linesare placed which at once shape and facilitate the assembly thereof. Themanner of manufacture is, according to processes, well known to makersof cartons or paper boxes and would present no problems to a personskilled in that art.

Thus it will be seen that the improved hanger is intended to possess alladvantages of the wooden commodity with the additional feature offoldability, should thatbe desired, and that it can be produced moreeconomically than the all wire hanger.

One preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing wherein like numerals refer to like partsthroughout 5 the various views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved hanger;

Figure 2 is an end elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is a similar view to that shown in Figure 1 but in folded orcollapsed form;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line A-A ofFigure 1;

Figure 5 is a view in perspective;

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line BB of Figure1; and

Figure 7 is an alternative method of affixing the suspending hook whenit is desired to dispense with the feature of foldability in favour of arigid form.

The improved hanger retains the conventional triangular shape andcomprises two oppositely inclined shoulder pieces I and I pivotallysecured together at their upper termini by an eyelet 4 through which asuspending hook 5 is passed. These shoulder pieces, as previouslysuggested, are preferably stamped out of sheet material such as paperboard or the like, and are impressed with crease lines to permitimparting thereto longitudinally a channel or inverted U shape, asillustrated in Figure 6 and shown as 2 in Figure 4. This constructionhas for its object to insure strength and rigidity to the members. Indeveloping the blank to form shoulder supporting members several varyingsets of impressed crease lines are scored, firstly as above indicatedover the portions designated l and I; secondly transverse lines at apoint intermediate therein to permit the lower ends of these piecesdesignated 2 and 2' in the drawing to be folded inwardly, and thirdlycreases on the portions 2 and 2 similar to those firstly described buttending in an opposing direction.

The inwardly folded ends 2 and 2' of the shoulder pieces are adapted tobe slidably inserted into the two opposing open ends of a tubular member3 constituting the'transverse bar of the hanger and therefore also itstrousers supporting means. This tubular member is similarly stamped outof sheet material such as paper board or the like, by the processpreviously described, and it, too, is impressed longitudinally withcrease lines to permit opposing edges thereof to be brought together andsecured to one another as shown in Figures 2 and 4, where, preferably,an adhesive is employed and the edges are laid flat together. It will beunderstood, of course, that this bar member may be cylindrical in shapeor in section it may present an oval or triangular or square shape, butthe construction first described would appear to afford a greatermeasure of rigidity and therefore remains as a preferred construction;furthermore it will be understood that in place of an adhesive to securethe edges together, these may be stitched or stapled or held together inmany other ways.

To assemble the improved hanger the inwardly folded ends of the shoulderpieces are inserted into the open ends of the tubular bar member, thefree ends thereof are then brought to an overlapping position andsecured together pivotally by means of an eyelet, thereafter thesuspending hook, preferably of wire, is passed there- 'through andclamped against disengagement. When assembled in this way it will beseen that the hanger may be folded or collapsed by causing the portions2 and 2 to move outwardly in relation to the tubular member by thesimple expedient of depressing the shoulder supports to occupy aposition in a plane relative to the transverse members and to expand orunfold it is merely necessary to tug at the suspending hook in adirection away from the transverse bar, until the shoulder pieces in theregion of their juncture with the inwardly folded terminal portionsthereof are brought to abutment against the respective ends of the saidtransverse bar.

Under certain conditions and for certain purposes it may be desirable toeliminate the collapsible or folding feature hereinbefore described andclaimed as part of this invention, in favour of a rigid hanger. This maybe accomplished either by replacing the eyelet 3 with a rivet or somesuch device and by immovably clamping the end of the suspending hookinto place or by means of the alternative method of constructionillustrated in Figure 7 wherein the suspending hook is affixed rigidlyto a triangular section of material G and the latter is securedsimilarly immovably by means of stitches or rivets l to the shoulderpieces l and l.

Having thus fully disclosed a preferred embodiment of this invention,its utility and mode of operation, it must nevertheless be borne in mindthat the same is susceptible to be varied and modified in a great manyways without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

I claim:

1. A foldable garment hanger comprising two oppositely inclined shoulderpieces each having a portion of its lower extremity [olded inwardly, aneyelet having a hook element passed therethrough pivotally connectingthe upper ends thereof and a tubular transverse bar having end openingsadapted to accommodate movably therein the said inwardly folded ends ofthe shoulder pieces and provide abutments therefor.

A foldable garment hanger constructed of sheet material comprising twooppositely disposed shoulder pieces; lower terminal extensions of eachsuch shoulder piece hingedly secured thereto by an impressed creaseline; a tubular transverse bar adapted to accommodate the said terminalextensions slidably in end openings therein and thereby provideabutments for the said shoulder pieces when the hanger is in expandedposition, and an eyelet having a suspension element passed therethroughpivotally connecting the upper termini of the said shoulder pieces.

A foldable garment hanger constructed of sheet material comprising twooppositely dis posed shoulder pieces having impressed crease linesdisposed thereon in spaced relation to the longitudinal edges thereof topermit marginal portions to be folded inwardly to impart rigiditythereto; lower terminal extensions of each such shoulder piece hingedlysecured thereto by an impressed crease line having similar marginalportions but folded outwardly; a tubular transverse bar adapted toaccommodate the said terminal extensions slidably in end openingstherein and thereby provide abutments for the said shoulder pieces whenthe hanger is in expanded position, and an eyelet having a suspensionelement passed therethrough pivotally connecting the upper termini ofthe said shoulder pieces.

4. A foldable garment hanger as defined by claim 3 wherein the saidterminal extensions of the shoulder pieces are of such linear dimensionthat the same will not be disengaged from the tubular bar when thehanger is in collapsed form.

C. L. WELLS.

